A man and a woman have separately been arrested for theft-by-finding, and a Hong Kong man for theft, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Wong Wai Chon said at a press conference yesterday.
In the first case, a mainland woman reported to the police in November that she had left her smartphone worth 11,000 patacas in a taxi. With the help of CCTV footage, the police identified a woman surnamed Zhang, in her thirties, as the individual who had picked up the victim’s phone.
Zhang was arrested when she reentered Macau through the Barrier Gate checkpoint on Saturday. She admitted to stealing the phone out of greed, and putting it in her flat in the mainland.
In the second case, a mainland man reported to the police in December that he had left his smartphone worth 6,900 patacas on a couch at a Cotai casino, which had disappeared when he attempted to pick it up.
The police identified a local man surnamed Cheong, in his sixties and retired, as the individual who had stolen the victim’s phone. Cheong was arrested when he reentered Macau through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge checkpoint.
He admitted to stealing the phone for personal use and returned the phone during questioning.
In the third case, a mainland non-resident worker (NRW) was pushing a trolley with her backpack inside near the Barrier Gate checkpoint earlier this month. Her backpack fell on the ground without her noticing, but half an hour later she found it there, but her belongings, containing a phone worth 5,900 patacas and 1,100 patacas in cash, were missing. The police identified a Hong Kong man surnamed Chu as the individual who had picked up the backpack and stolen the cash and phone. Chu was arrested when he reentered Macau through the Taipa Ferry Terminal checkpoint on Saturday.
Under questioning, he admitted to the crime and claimed that he had thrown away the phone as he could not unlock it.
The three suspects have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP). Zhang and Cheong face theft-by-finding charges, while Chu faces a theft charge.
This undated photo provided by the police yesterday shows the Hong Kong theft suspect being escorted to a police station in the northern district.
